Page 121 of Marcus

“Uncle Marcus, come on!”

He looked over his shoulder to find his namesake was jumping up and down on the spot, waiting for him. Marc was a lot of things, but patient wasn’t one of them. He quickly turned his attention back on Cella, still unsure what was about to happen between the two of them, but she smiled at him and shrugged her shoulder.

“We can chat later,” she said, “I’ll be here.”

“Yeah, sure.”

But what would happen then?

Marcus had been wrong. For one reason or another, more guests began to show up to the small gathering as time went on. Mostly a few family Capos that he knew his father considered friends with apologies and excuses already on the tips of their tongues for as to why they hadn’t gotten there sooner.

It didn’t escape Marcus how Gian was quick to accept the apologies but also turned each man to him as though they also owed him an apology. Should speak to your boss, his father would say before turning his attention back on his wife.

For now, with the party in full swing, Marcus had the chance to stand back and observe the rest of his family the way he liked to do. And currently, that included his mother who stood in the middle of the playroom with her grandchildren running all over the place shouting at the top of their little lungs with Cella beside her.

“Here I was,” Cara said, “trying to sneak my way onto your waiting list, and you already had a whole project going on for me.”

Cella smiled. “Well, thank your husband for that.”

“Oh, I will, but that’s not the point.”

“I couldn’t tell you. That would have ruined the surprise.”

“I suppose.”

“Do you like it?” Cella asked.

Cara took a moment before answering that question, but only as long as she needed to look around the playroom with the huge jungle gym that reached the ceiling and allowed the kids wall to wall play space. “This room scared me for a long time.”

“I was told that, yes. I hoped you could make better memories in here now.”

“I will, thank you. And yes, I love it more than I can explain. Then again, Gian does have a way of outdoing himself every time he tries when it comes to showing his love for me. It seems like an extra gift for me in this that I was able to properly meet you, too.”

The two women quieted, and Marcus felt a presence come to stand next to him in the doorway of the playroom. Beside him, Chris crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at Maria who helped her two-year-old sister, Mia Cara, climb to the second level of the jungle gym.

“Have you spoken to her?” he asked.

Marcus shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Doesn’t seem like you to avoid—”

“Not avoiding, Chris. There are just other things to handle first.”

“Right.”

His brother didn’t particularly sound like he believed that statement, but he didn’t press. Marcus was grateful because honestly, now just wasn’t the time. He hadn’t lied.

“I spoke to her when she came into town a little while back to do some last-minute things here,” Chris said.

Marcus took in a deep breath. “Oh?”

“Seems her lack of calling was a miscommunication on my part. Sorry about that.”

“Huh.”

Maybe that was what she meant in her message.

Did it even matter?